This is part 7 of a series of articles written by the GOLF 20/20 Ambassadors highlighting ways for the golf industry to engage with 18 to 34-year-olds and promote the game to millennial golfers. Read the rest of the series.
1. Promotion and Advertisement of Collegiate Golf: People think that you have to shoot low scores consistently to play golf in college. They’re wrong. If we can put the necessary resources into promotion and advertisement of golf into the college atmosphere, millennials will be more open and willing to trying this wonderful sport.
2. Making Club Golf Better Known: When people think of college sports, they almost exclusively think varsity, but they have to understand that there is such thing a non-varsity college athletics. Like “select teams” for soccer, “all-star teams” for basketball and so on, but no one considers club teams for golf. If we can promote club teams for golf like club teams for professional soccer, then we can make strides in this industry. Golf is a sport with tremendous growth potential, and one of the steps we must take to move forward is promote the concepts of club teams.
3. Golf Related Classes in High School and College: This is another crucial step in not only promoting golf to my generation but promoting the sport to everyone collectively. I was told that Mississippi State University offers a golf major to student, but where I go to school, we don’t have that option. We can take courses, such as Beginner Golf and Intermediate Golf, but nothing that really goes in depth into the game. If more schools had curriculums centered on golf, the game will change for the better.
4. Community Golf Days: If I had the resources and contacts, I would try to set up Golf Days throughout the year. During these events, I would hope to see manufacturers and all golf-affiliated companies there to promote their products and allow the community to test them. Not just to professionals but aimed more at the every day person in society. This action will urge your average golfer to play more due to the direct approach, rather than watching others do the testing.
#GOLFIS providing more student discounts to allow my generation to play more. Especially for us college students.
— Andrew Hoang (@andrewhoang1349) July 30, 2014
5. Decreasing the Price to Golf: If courses could lower their prices to play, it would attract more and more people to play golf. Price is what usually drives people away from the game; therefore, lowering the price will bring more people to the game. Also, courses could offer days with reduced prices or specials like “free green fees,” “free cart with golf,” or my favorite, “buy nine holes, get nine free.”
By: Andrew Hoang
Twitter: @andrewhoang1349
